Goody to Join Soccer Staff as Volunteer Assistant

July 31, 2014, 05:51 PM (CT)
Updated: July 31, 2014, 05:53 PM (CT)

LSU head coach Brian Lee

Chris Parent (@chrisparent)

Will Stafford (@WillStaffordLSU)
Associate SID

BATON ROUGE – LSU Soccer head coach Brian Lee announced Thursday afternoon the addition of William Carey University men’s and women’s assistant and goalkeepers coach Carl Goody to his staff as a volunteer assistant coach as Goody will take to the pitch for the first time at the start of the Tigers’ preseason training on Aug. 12.

Among Goody’s primary responsibilities at LSU will be molding a young Tiger defense while coaching the team’s goalkeepers and assisting with all other day-to-day duties with the program.

“Carl was the first name off the tongue of some of the best coaches in the country when I went on the search for a top-notch goalkeeper coach to join us in the fall,” Lee said. “His experience at William Carey with some excellent teams and coaches is excellent preparation as he hits the ground running with our young, but talented goalkeeper cadre.”

Goody served as an assistant and goalkeepers coach with both the men’s and women’s programs at William Carey University in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, for two seasons in 2012 and 2013.

As a member of the staff, the WCU women were the undefeated champions of the Southern States Athletic Conference in 2013 while posting a perfect 11-0 record in SSAC play. The squad also advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NAIA National Tournament while ending the campaign with an impressive 18-5 overall mark in 2013.

The WCU women have been led by an outstanding defense in recent seasons that has featured two-time First-Team All-SSAC and two-time NAIA All-American goalkeeper Linfah Jones. Goody also coached Jones to the SSAC Freshman of the Year honor in 2012 and a pair of SSAC Defensive Player of the Week honors over the past two seasons.

The WCU men featured an All-SSAC goalkeeper of their own as Goody also coached Charlie Laridan to a Second-Team All-SSAC selection and a pair of SSAC Defensive Player of the Week honors in 2013.

While working with the men’s and women’s programs at WCU, he also served as Director of Goalkeeping with the Hattiesburg Youth Soccer Association for two seasons.

An accomplished goalkeeper in his own right, Goody followed his All-American collegiate career at William Carey as a trialist with Doncaster Rovers of the English Sky Bet Championship division and as a training member with DC United of Major League Soccer in 2012. He was also the team captain and Player of the Year with the Gulf Coast Texans of the National Premier Soccer League in 2013.

Goody wrapped up his collegiate career as First-Team NAIA All-American and First-Team All-SSAC and SSAC All-Tournament Team selection during his senior season in 2011. He set WCU’s single-season school record of 12 clean sheets while leading the squad to the NAIA Final Four in the NAIA National Tournament in 2011. It was a senior season highlighted by a run of eight-straight clean sheets during his final season at WCU.

Goody will have a wealth of young talent to work with at LSU as the Tigers feature three goalkeepers in the squad in New Zealand international Lily Alfeld, Colombian national team player pool star Catalina Rubiano and former U.S. youth national team standout and Top 100 national recruit Morgan Ruhl.

A veteran of the FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup during her youth career, Alfeld is preparing to anchor New Zealand’s defense at the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup beginning next week in Canada.

Rubiano recently received her first call-up to the Colombian Women’s National Team and is currently training with the squad for the first time in the city of Bogota as Colombia identifies its player pool that will compete at the 2014 South American Women’s Football Championships, or Copa America, in Ecuador this September.

Ruhl is a former Top 100 recruit in the United States by TopDrawerSoccer.com as she was tabbed the No. 80-ranked player overall and one of the top goalkeepers nationally in the recruiting Class of 2012.

“I want to thank Coach (Brian) Lee for giving me the opportunity to coach at such a prestigious school like LSU,” Goody said. “I’m honored to be a part of this soccer program. I’m looking forward to working with LSU’s goalkeepers and competing at the highest level in the SEC and NCAA starting this fall.”

Goody has earned two degrees from William Carey University with a Bachelor of Science in Health and Physical Education with a minor in business and a Master of Science in Counseling Psychology. In addition, he has a U.S. Soccer Federation “D” Certificate, National Soccer Coaches Association of America National Diploma and Goalkeeping Level 3 Diploma, and is FA Level 1 certified.